John Terry's acquittal of racially abusing Anton Ferdinand has been described as a "travesty" by former NBA basketball player John Amaechi, who said that football had made "Black c--- now officially ok to say".

The Chelsea captain was today cleared of hurling a racist obscenity at Queens Park Rangers player Anton Ferdinand during a Premier League match on October 23 last year.

The verdict sparked a host of comments on Twitter and from leading figures and organisations within football. The FA said they would be making their own inquiries into what went on at the QPR match.

"The FA notes the decision in the John Terry case and will now seek to conclude its own enquiries, " the organisation said in a statement. "The FA will make no further comment at this time."

Paul Elliott , an ambassador of FA-funded anti-racism group Kick It, admitted the episode had painted football in a very bad light and had brought back into focus some of the "ugliness" on the field in the 70s and 80s.

"There's no winners in this situation," said the former Chelsea player.

"Football's a wonderful way for people to express themselves, break down barriers, challenge a lot of areas around all forms of discrimination and prejudices so it's very sad we're here today witnessing this sad and sorry outcome.

"It's about learning the lessons and ensuring that this type of situation doesn't come into a court again."

He added: "I was a player that was engaged in the ugliness of the late 70s and early 80s and it's regrettable that in the 21st century we're here actually discussing these issues.

"There's big challenges ahead, there's no doubt about that. I think it's important the footballing family embraces that, works collectively, educates people and puts in a lot of resources to ensure the fight continues."

Retired British basketball player Amaechi agreed that the country now had to face issues that he hoped had been put to bed yeas ago and said the incident had set the country back a decade.

&lt;noframe&gt;Twitter: John Amaechi - John Terry verdict is a travesty. Thanks football - you set entire country back a decade. 'Black c*nt' now officially ok to say. &lt;a href="http://search.twitter.com/search?q=racism" target="_blank"&gt;#racism&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/noframe&gt;

Lord Ouseley, Britain’s leading anti-racism campaigner and FA Council member, said it was paramount that the sort of abusive language profiled in the Terry trial is stamped out of the game.

"It seems there is a problem with some men who are highly paid playing football and not being abusive in a way which is totally unacceptable and the authorities will come together no doubt in due course to try and eradicate this, " he said.

"I think the vast majority of people who play football would be offended by it [the incident] and certainly people who have no relationship with football and have been reading about it and hearing about it are absolutely appalled and they asked me if that's what goes on in football.

"I think at the highest level of football it's got to stop because these are people who are highly-paid role models, they influence their fans."

Questioned on whether the verdict could put off players who had been racially abused from coming forward in future, Ouseley said: "There is clear evidence we know that players are reluctant to come forward and raise this issue.

"It impacts on their own performance on the field, it impacts on their relationship within the club. There is a culture in the dressing room which has to be tackled, people are very fearful and do not come forward."

The FA also came in for criticism from some corners, with BBC commentator and former Manchester United and Tottenham striker Garth Crooks accusing the governing body of aggravating the situation by failing to take action immediately after the QPR match.

"The real problem in the Terry case began once the FA failed to take immediate action, " he said.

"This lack of fibre by the governing body to act instantly when Terry gave them a statement after the verbal clash with Ferdinand, threw the entire procedure into chaos - forcing everyone associated with the game to either dive for cover or sit on the fence.

"It may have appeared expedient to delay matters at the time but once the police appeared on the scene the FA lost control of the process and the dynamic dramatically changed."

Chelsea chairman Bruce Buck, who was present throughout the trial, expressed relief at the verdict and looked forward to Terry returning to work.

Buck said that the club respected the decision that had been made and that they were pleased Terry could get back to focusing on football.

"Chelsea Football Club notes and, of course, we respect the decision of the magistrate today," he said.

"We are pleased that John can now put his mind to football and go back to training and do what he's done for many years."